Six Feet Under - Commandment
Metal Blade Records - 2007
By Adam McAuley
Commandment sees veteran death metallers Six Feet Under churn out a rather bland platter, of the style that has just enough innovation and solid musicianship to hold its own within the field of death metal. They play in a similar style to veterans Obituary, but with less of the conviction that has made the latter such an exciting act at their best moments. The primitiveness present is obvious and creates an extreme, but rather empty sounding recording, which trudges along at mid-pace. At times one wishes the band would throw in some technicality or other original moments to interrupt the rather generic proceedings, but this never really happens. The growled vocals never match the genuine quality of John Tardy's from Obituary, and prove annoying rather than fitting as well as Tardy's. All of these are parallelled in the unoriginal and unexciting music, that doesn't rise above the premiere death metal elite, and never really gains momentum.
There is good news, however - the performances on display are decent, and the music is enjoyable regardless of the above flaws. People looking for a standard but fun recording will find something to enjoy here, and the feel of the old-school death metal will undoubtedly capture some fans. The lack of originality and innovation, however, will leave most others unfulfilled. There simply isn't enough to separate this from far more interesting death metal that can be found by the likes of Gory Blister - and other recent compelling acts - to be worthwhile.
Official Six Feet Under Website
Official Metal Blade Records Website
Metal Blade Records - 2007
By Adam McAuley
Commandment sees veteran death metallers Six Feet Under churn out a rather bland platter, of the style that has just enough innovation and solid musicianship to hold its own within the field of death metal. They play in a similar style to veterans Obituary, but with less of the conviction that has made the latter such an exciting act at their best moments. The primitiveness present is obvious and creates an extreme, but rather empty sounding recording, which trudges along at mid-pace. At times one wishes the band would throw in some technicality or other original moments to interrupt the rather generic proceedings, but this never really happens. The growled vocals never match the genuine quality of John Tardy's from Obituary, and prove annoying rather than fitting as well as Tardy's. All of these are parallelled in the unoriginal and unexciting music, that doesn't rise above the premiere death metal elite, and never really gains momentum.
There is good news, however - the performances on display are decent, and the music is enjoyable regardless of the above flaws. People looking for a standard but fun recording will find something to enjoy here, and the feel of the old-school death metal will undoubtedly capture some fans. The lack of originality and innovation, however, will leave most others unfulfilled. There simply isn't enough to separate this from far more interesting death metal that can be found by the likes of Gory Blister - and other recent compelling acts - to be worthwhile.
Official Six Feet Under Website
Official Metal Blade Records Website
